This invention relates in general to golfing aids and deals more particularly with an improved device and method for aiding a golfer to substantially eliminate or at least reduce the magnitude of an undesired slice or hook which may occur when driving a golf ball from a tee.
Many golfers, particularly novices, find that the ball has a tendency to slice or hook when driven from a tee, which often results in a bad lie or a lost ball. Such undesirable slicing or hooking tendencies result from an improperly executed club swing which causes the club face or striking surface of the club to impart undesired spinning motion to the ball. Thus, for example, when a right handed golfer executes an undesired outside-in club swing the club head moves from the outside toward the inside of a proper arc of swing. At the instant of impact the club face is moving toward the inner side of the arc in which the club head is traveling or generally toward the golfer and has a lateral component of motion relative to the ball which is frictionally transferred from the club face to the ball surface thereby imparting a clockwise spin to the ball, as viewed from above. The resulting aerodynamic effect upon the ball causes the ball to slice or travel along an undesired flight path to the right.
If the same golfer executes an undesired inside-out swing, the club head moves from the inner side of a proper arc of swing toward the outer side of the arc thereby producing counterclockwise ball rotation or spin which results in a hook or ball flight toward the left and away from a desired straight flight path. Such undesirable ball spin also increases ball air resistance and reduces the length of a drive. It will also be appreciated that some of the kinetic energy which might otherwise be imparted to the ball to propel it in a desired direction is lost in spinning the ball. This ball spin is most pronounced when the ball is driven from a tee, because maximum club head speed is usually utilized in the drive so that the resulting lateral force component transferred by the club face to and acting upon the ball is maximized. However, it should be understood that there are times when it is desirable to impart spin to a golf ball, as, for example, when applying backspin to stop a ball or when intentionally executing a slice or hook a ball to circumvent an obstacle.
Accordingly, it is a general aim of the present invention to provide an improved golf driving aid for selective use to substantially eliminate an undesired hook or slice or at least reduce the magnitude of such hook or slice when it is desired that a golf ball driven from a tee take a substantially straight flight path.